Hydrothermal Assisted Precipitation Synthesis of Highly Stable g-C3N4/BiOBr/CdS Photocatalyst with Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline

Abstract In the present study, we synthesized g-C3N4/BiOBr/CdS photocatalyst by hydrothermal assisted precipitation method. The structure and morphology of the prepared photocatalyst were characterized and also the optical properties of the photocatalyst was investigated as well. The visible-light-driven g-C3N4/BiOBr/CdS photocatalyst exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance towards TC degradation. In particular, the g-C3N4/BiOBr/CdS photocatalyst showed the highest photocatalytic degradation rate performance, which was superior to that observed 8.95 times for g-C3N4, 3.11 times for BiOBr and 3.18 times for BiOBr/CdS composite, and it also displayed good stability during recycling experiments. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency was mainly attributed to rapid charge transfer at the g-C3N4/BiOBr/CdS interfaces, which promotes the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers and improves optical absorption. Furthermore, a possible photocatalytic mechanism of the g-C3N4/BiOBr/CdS photocatalyst is proposed based on the experimental studies. The present research work would provide new insight into the design and fabrication of visible-light-driven photocatalyst for energy storage and environmental protection applications.